TV Stand #1: Progess is very slow...cutting the new plywood, the angles and the splines

This is actually the second in the series but I didn’t understand how the blog system works. The first in the series is a separate blog entitled TV stand.

I will eventually put this on my website in more detail but here’s a shorter version of some of the problems and success of making my TV stand.

I wish I had some plans or I had more knowledge about building furniture. Because I don’t the project just isn’t moving along very fast. What started me on this project was when I helped my parents with their TV stand. They were purchasing a new TV and their current TV set in a cabinet but the new TV wouldn’t fit to they wanted something similar but lower so they could set the TV on the top of the cabinet and not inside. I told them I could disassemble it and cut it down to the size they want, and then reassemble it. I worked very well and it also gave me an opportunity to see how the cabinet was constructed. I’ve needed a table stand for years but not having the knowledge how to construct one and not locating any plans for one that I like, I’ve been putting it off. I’ve built a lot of cabinets but all the corners have been cut at 90 degrees. This type of project is completely new to me so it’s going along very slow.

I received my new plywood.

I took at photo of the two plywood boards. The top is the imported plywood, which actually looks good in this photo. The bottom is the domestic plywood.

I cut the plywood and it worked much better than the other plywood. I cut the angles and cut the space of the splines. I had some problems cutting the splines since they are not at a 45 degree angle. After some test cut I ended up cutting them at a 90 degree angle.

I used my test boards to help support my boards while I cut the boards at a 90 degree angle. I used double sided tape to secure the boards together.

I then cut the splines using hardboard. I did some research and some testing and found hardboard to be perfect to use in my case. Here’s what I found based on my research.

Splined Edge-to-Edge JointThis is a variation of a biscuit joint. Instead of using numerous smaller biscuits, splines are essentially a single long biscuit used to align the two pieces. The spline is a piece of plywood or hardboard that is placed in a slots that are cut in the adjoining edges. These slots can be stopped so they do not show if the ends are to be exposed. One thing to keep in mind is to ensure the spline is slightly narrower than the depth of the slot. Making the spline exactly the depth of the slot can lead to splitting of the wood as the surrounding wood shrinks, but the hardboard spline does not . A gap of 1/32 (1/64th on either slot) is sufficient to prevent this problem.

I really like my tablesaw gripper. I see someone on LJ has designed and made their own. I figure I spend most of my time building things to organize my garage so I didn’t want to take the time to make one. I highly recommend getting one of these or at least building one.

This is the second indoor project I'll be making. I designed it myself and I didn't make it easy. I'll be using a lot of techniques I've never used before. I'll will also be putting this up on my website.

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